【译林湖南版】2011高考英语一轮复习提能训练 Module 3 Unit 2 LanguageⅠ.填词 A WEBSITE called the Global Language Monitor recently(日前)announced that the English language now has over 1 million words.Word number 1,000,000 is “Web 2.0”. Most Americans have a vocabulary of about 20,000 words.The most famous English speaker in history,William Shakespeare,used 30,000 words in his plays.That’s a lot,but it’s not even close to 1 million.So where do all of these words come from? English likes to borrow words from other languages.Take the word “fiancé”,a French term for someone who’s engaged(订婚).English speakers don’t have a word of their own to describe this,so they just use the French.Don’t forget “feng shui”,the Chinese term now used by English speakers who want to arrange(布置)their furniture in harmony(和谐). In the age of the Internet, the English language is growing more quickly.Some experts believe that as many as 15 words join the English language every day.Now it’s possible to share information very quickly with people all over the world,and words from all languages are flying through a shared cyberspace(网络空间). Speaking of cyberspace,in the age of the Internet,a whole new vocabulary is being used.Think of words like “cyber”,“blog”(博客),“World Wide Web”and “e-mail”.Ten years ago,these words were rare(稀少的).Now it’s hard to imagine the English language—and the world—without them! |